Of course, we must be cautious and not get completely carried away with Euro-euphoria. Trailers and screenshots are one thing, but in-game it often looks different. Nevertheless, we can’t help but feel a certain euphoria for FC 25 – because finally, the classic Career Mode is coming into focus.
And that’s no small thing – after all, we’ve been waiting for years. Most of the time, EA has only invested a lot of money and development capacity in the profitable FUT mode, and for two years has puzzlingly focused mainly on the player career, which is only used by five percent of players. But now: Finally, big innovations in Career Mode!
Starting Points provide many scenarios
Not only Hansus, who has been accusing EA of lacking innovation for years, is happy about such great ideas as Starting Points, which allow you to start later in a season with real data from the real football world. A panorama of scenario possibilities! This is the first big plus point, and has been a long-standing wish of the community.
The return of the walk-in sequences and line-ups as an option – how we’ve all wished for that. Hardly any annoyance was greater in the fan community, and EA has finally listened to the criticism and the fans. A small detail, but one that stands for the bigger picture.
You can read about all the innovations in Career Mode here.
Never before could you adjust so much in the game
The second big plus are the many, many setting options. Transfers on or off, weather influences strong or weak, gameplay realistic or arcade, board objectives yes or no, scouting yes or no (then you just buy the “pig in a poke”) – never before have Career Mode players had so many choices. As Hansus says, you can tailor the Career Mode to how you want it.
And then three more big changes: The youth academy, the tactics and AI system, and women’s career mode. All three features truly deserve extra praise. Because finding, scouting, and further developing youth players is the heart of the long-term career. Leon Miller from Castrop-Rauxel, from the youth academy to the Champions League, that’s what Career Mode is all about.
The youth academy comes alive and becomes playable
Now, you can scout from 160 (!) countries, 60 more than before, refine your search criteria, and specifically look for positions – and even potential roles within those positions. You can then develop youth players through training, but – and this is a phenomenal advancement – by actually PLAYING them!
This is done using the new Rush mode, where you can play against the AI or – we need to let that sink in – against FRIENDS ONLINE. Yes, it’s not an online career mode yet, but it’s a step towards that. Youth players improve with success, and you can test them in gameplay, either with their current strength or their maximum potential. So, you can experience how they perform at a 90-plus level.
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What an incredible immersion! Youth tournaments every two months – when the player arrives in the main team, you already know him inside and out. Plus, at 16, he doesn’t look like a 30-year-old family man with a full beard; he ages over time until he has gray hair. Awesome! And thanks to Cranium technology, his face looks realistic, and he plays in a team of realistic faces, even without face scans of stars.
FCIQ changes tactics and gameplay
Then there’s the new tactical system FCIQ – the AI finally lives up to its name and reacts differently, unpredictably, constantly seeking new solutions. True, this has been promised before, but the general advancements in artificial intelligence make a real technological leap possible here. Hopefully, this will also be evident in the interviews, which are said to be new and have more influence on the game.
You can now set player roles, which will become more familiar with their roles and adapt better. Just like in reality, we know this from manager games like FM or Football Manager or Kickoff. And you can practice and influence corner kicks. A bit more management and depth, thank you for that.
The women’s career mode is absolutely fantastic
Last but not least: Women’s career mode. Women’s teams from top leagues in Europe and the USA, absolutely great! And not just in tournament mode as before, but with a real career, with all features, financially adapted to the reality of women’s football. And even in such a way that as a manager, you can switch between men’s and women’s teams.
In addition, many small details – social media and comments instead of just newspaper reports, Fabrizio Romano with transfer news, new video sequences – everything is excellent.
It seems that FC 25 is finally the major reform that was hoped for with the separation from FIFA for FC 24. A healthy basic skepticism remains, and of course we wish for even more, an open world like in 2K NBA with surroundings and stadium grounds, a real stadium editor, more management elements like sponsorship negotiations and – very importantly – statistics of past games. Or a club museum with trophies.
But if everything comes as seen in videos, leaks, and screenshots, then EA would have already succeeded in making a great achievement. And that is simply – I’ll say it emotionally – absolutely awesome.